Typical crops utilize a ridge and furrow design in fields in combination with furrow irrigation. Crops are grown in the ridge and water floods the furrows from the edges of the field. In typical configuration, water is placed in an irrigation trench spanning across one edge of the field. Water then passes from the irrigation trench along the furrows until the water reaches another irrigation trench on the opposite side of the field. The distance between furrows and the height of the top of the ridge and the bottom of the furrow is variable depending on soil conditions and crops to be grown.
The ridge and furrows are typically created using a plow drawn by a tractor. The process of making the ridge and furrows can often leave a small pile of dirt at the junction of a furrow edge and the irrigation trench. This small pile of dirt often acts as an impediment to the free flow of water from the irrigation trench to the furrow resulting in some furrows receiving more water than required and other furrows receiving less water than required or even no water at all. The conventional method of removing the small pile of dirt is manual labor with a shovel. This process is expensive, time consuming, and often is not completed properly resulting in increased labor costs and increased water costs due to less efficient irrigation.
In light of the above, it would be advantageous to have a tool that would enable a farmer to quickly and easily remove the small piles of dirt between the edges of the furrows and the irrigation trench. It would further be advantageous if the tool could be draw by a conventional tractor. It would further be advantageous if the tool did not have to be independently driven with hydraulics, pneumatics, or through electrical actuation in order to increase the reliability of the tool and lower both acquisition costs and operational costs. It would further be advantageous for the tool to be easily adjustable to accommodate the varying widths and heights of ridges and furrows between fields.